tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post7826684010212757995..comments2023-05-17T06:09:57.307-04:00Comments on Flip Flops, Glitter, and Theology: Full CircleL.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00106478277540160841noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-70248770228265618392015-08-01T22:14:19.630-04:002015-08-01T22:14:19.630-04:00Pastors who think they are above certain tasks. Th...Pastors who think they are above certain tasks. That is so sad and pathetic! I certainly realize they exist. Whatever happened to servant hood? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-50141940584635435462015-08-01T17:49:35.959-04:002015-08-01T17:49:35.959-04:00I agree. One particular problem with this is that...I agree. One particular problem with this is that we associate leaders with position and titles (as you say, 'labels' - we do love labels).<br /><br />Having a position or a title does not a leader make (and not having a position or a title is not any sort of indication of lack of leadership).<br /><br />We do need to find ways to then to raise up authentic leadership, regardless of title/role/position, and not just "allow" people to lead, but to encourage and support such leaders...philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17234297775933507796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-5201573501744454392015-08-01T16:00:41.746-04:002015-08-01T16:00:41.746-04:00Bryan -
You have pointed out a couple of importa...Bryan - <br /><br />You have pointed out a couple of important things. First, yes there are sometimes policies in place that prevent pastors (or any other number of people) from performing certain tasks. That's certainly not what I was getting at!<br /><br />Second, there are, indeed, many pastors who serve faithfully with hearts that leads them to do anything and everything that needs to be done, so much so that it is often overwhelming and sometimes leads to problems, because these tasks are completed at the expense of other things the pastor should be doing. I am doing some exegetical work that might help with this particular discussion, but I haven't finished it yet! :) However, I think there are also many pastors who feel that there are tasks that they are simply "above", because of their position in the church. *That* is the kind of attitude that I was hoping to guard against. L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00106478277540160841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-37315006681492772142015-08-01T15:53:02.089-04:002015-08-01T15:53:02.089-04:00Phil -
I agree that we see far too little of tha...Phil - <br /><br />I agree that we see far too little of that kind of leadership, but I think sometimes it is simply because we have labeled as "leaders" those who are *not* leading in this way and labeled those who *are* as something else... or nothing else... L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00106478277540160841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-49077781862222060182015-07-27T22:43:26.360-04:002015-07-27T22:43:26.360-04:00L. & Rich - I think it is important, too, to r...L. & Rich - I think it is important, too, to remember that leaders aren't 'born' or 'made' (or even 'ordained') - they are called, as Len Sweet says in his book, "Summoned To Lead." In that book Sweet looks at the life and leadership of Ernest Shackleton and the Shackleton expedition over 100 years ago. I think the most important thing we might learn from Shackleton was his fierce desire to not leave behind a single one of those he led - and in fact, all returned safely, from the greatest to the least.<br /><br />Leadership is about listening to God's voice and God's call, and out of that, listening to others, and yes, *serving* the least of these.<br /><br />We desperately need that kind of leadership in Ekklesia. We see far too little of it today, at least in many Western-American modes of Christianity.philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17234297775933507796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-81667994210003462262015-07-27T20:59:51.049-04:002015-07-27T20:59:51.049-04:00Part of the reason for not having pastors help wit...Part of the reason for not having pastors help with receiving the offering, is that pastors should never handle the money in a church setting. I know, being at Campmeeting is a little different. They probably just wanted to give pastors a break. After all, they do pretty much everything else that needs to be done, especially in small to medium sized churches! A pastor friend of mine cleans the church he is serving at. My Pastor has been known to mow the lawn and shovel the sidewalks in the past. Fortunately, others have stepped up and helped in these areas, so my Pastor does not have to continue to do so. The point is, he did them with a servant's heart!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-73688612649247813472015-07-27T20:53:50.427-04:002015-07-27T20:53:50.427-04:00Thanks, Bryan. I think this is a very important p...Thanks, Bryan. I think this is a very important point, especially for families who teach their children to serve, and, for the purposes of Ministry Monday posts, especially for vocational pastor's families who are so often scrutinized. We need to teach our kids to meet needs... to minister to others. And it's perfectly OK to tell them that we're proud of them when they do. I wonder how many more people would be willing to serve if we at least acknowledged them as opposed to making them feel as if what they're doing is not important to the Kingdom of God! L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00106478277540160841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-61672788776439792082015-07-27T20:48:37.397-04:002015-07-27T20:48:37.397-04:00The story about Miah helping with the chairs was a...The story about Miah helping with the chairs was awesome! It's more than okay to be proud of our kids when they are ministering. That is exactly what you all were doing, ministering, meeting a need. It is disturbing that others would get down on you for being proud of your children's accomplishments. Try to let it roll off your back like water off a duck!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-42697738842716790742015-07-27T20:47:41.104-04:002015-07-27T20:47:41.104-04:00I agree completely, and yet we seem to put people ...I agree completely, and yet we seem to put people in positions of leadership, giving them titles and "legitimate power" (you know, the kind that comes from titles), and often they either forget about the servanthood part or we eventually come to realize that they never had this in mind to begin with. <br /><br />Obviously this cannot be said of all leaders with legitimate power. There are some very good ones. But I think we also know that there are many who are simply grasping at power for power's sake... for the notoriety... for the paycheck... <br /><br />But I think what really stood out to me, this past week, is that even people with a *little* bit of power are often unwilling to serve. Why would pastors be averse to participating in collecting an offering (assuming it is a normal practice for them... this could be a completely different topic otherwise). Why does anyone think they are somehow too good to straighten chairs... or take out trash... or clean up messes... It's almost as if even those with the smallest amount of power are looking for someone to control as opposed to someone to lead. And, oh... those are two very different things... L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00106478277540160841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5863580044898821386.post-53123996489026803092015-07-27T19:35:22.579-04:002015-07-27T19:35:22.579-04:00If someone thinks they are called to leadership, b...If someone thinks they are called to leadership, but not to servanthood, then perhaps they are mistaken. <br /><br />Servant leadership is the cruciform way. Rich Shockeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570693291582649092noreply@blogger.com